“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
– Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776
On this day, we celebrate our nation’s independence from British rule and the beginning of the Great American Experiment, as well as the liberty, freedom, and justice it has granted every American in the centuries since. Here at FPIW, on July 4th, we take time to reflect on what it means to be an independent nation, founded on the pillars of Christianity and an unwavering faith in God. Our culture has strayed far from these principles in the 248 years since our nation’s founding, to the point that many refute we are a Christian nation at all. Please join us today in reflecting on the below passages from our nation’s history that reaffirm the truth that America has Christian roots.
In support regarding the influence of the Bible and Christianity upon the founding, here are a few ideas that David Barton highlights in his book America’s Godly Heritage as well as in the documentary Monumental:
• Twenty-nine out of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence held degrees from schools that today would be considered seminaries or Bible schools. Also, more than two-thirds of them opposed slavery.
• In 1782, Congress officially approved and oversaw the project to print the first English-language Bible in America. It is sometimes called “The Bible of the Revolution,” and it bears an endorsement: “the United States in Congress assembled . . . recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States.”
• Almost all the 55 Founding Fathers at the Constitutional Convention (1787)—the convention where the Constitution was written—were members of traditional Christian churches. George Washington, for example, was a member of Christ Church; it was the first Episcopalian Church in America and is in Philadelphia.
• President John Adams acknowledged in 1813:
“The general principles on which the fathers [Founders of the U.S.] achieved independence were … the general principles of Christianity.”
• John Jay, the first U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, declared in 1816:
“Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers; and it is the duty—as well as the privilege and interest—of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”
• John Marshall, another U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, affirmed in 1833:
“One great object of the colonial charters was avowedly the propagation of the Christian faith.”
• President John Quincy Adams said in 1837:
“Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the World, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day [i.e., Independence Day, July 4th]? Is it not that in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?”
• French observer Alexis de Tocqueville reported in his famous work Democracy in America (published in 1838):
“[T]here is no country in the whole world in which the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America—and there can be no greater proof of its utility, and of its conformity to human nature, than that its influence is most powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth.”
• Justice David Brewer wrote in a Supreme Court decision in 1892:
“[N]o purpose of action against religion can be imputed to any legislation, state or national, because this is a religious people. . . . [T]his is a Christian nation.”
• President Harry Truman openly avowed in 1946:
“In this great country of ours has been demonstrated the fundamental unity of Christianity and democracy.”
It is undeniable that America has values rooted in the Bible, and FPIW is working tirelessly to restore those values to our culture and government. Today, we celebrate our freedom to engage in government, not merely as observers of politics, but as participants. Will you take advantage of your constitutional right to be involved in the American government, a freedom so many across the world envy, and join us as a DEFENDER of Biblical values in the public square?
This issue is important to us at FPIW, and we hope you share our sincere passion in defending and advancing Biblical and conservative values in the public square.
- Want to Change Our Culture? 500,000 DEFENDER Prayer Warriors Are Needed.
- Want to be Heard in Olympia? 200,000 DEFENDER Activists for Political Power Are Needed.
- Want to Change Washington’s Laws? 450,000 DEFENDER Signers of Initiatives & Referendums Are Needed.
- Want Lasting Change? 1.7 Million DEFENDER Voters for Conservative Candidates Are Needed.
Join us! Please sign up to become a DEFENDER today.
